Where we started

When Sam Walton founded Walmart in 1962, his mission was to save people money so they could live better. That mission, in and of itself, creates tremendous social good. With every one of us working together – from associates and our global supply chain, to the very customers and communities we serve – we accomplished even more. We drove innovation and reinvented how the world moves products, from the point of production into the hands of the people who use them every day.

A new opportunity emerges

Then, Hurricane Katrina hit. As we mobilized to provide meals, supplies and cash to support recovery efforts, our eyes were opened to an even broader opportunity to make a difference. We recognized the significance of emergency preparedness at the local level and how our experience and expertise in global logistics could be utilized to provide fast and efficient relief in the wake of disaster. We asked ourselves, “What if we used our size and resources to make this country – and this planet – an even better place for all of us? And what if we could do that and build a stronger business at the same time?”

An agenda for the future

We reflected on our heritage of reinvention, our success, scale and resources and established a bold vision of what leadership meant for Walmart in the 21st century. Many of the issues our customers and communities care about most – hunger, access to healthier food, environmental sustainability, career opportunity and women’s economic empowerment – are the same ones where we can make a positive difference. So Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have undertaken several ambitious initiatives. Our executive leadership has set the tone and – in true Walmart fashion – our associates continue to work together to embed it in our day-to-day business, our culture and the collaborations we forge.

Walmart makes a difference in the lives of people all over the world every day.

To tackle environmental and social issues, we’ve created Sustainable Value Networks (SVNs), which are global networks of Walmart merchants, operators and finance leaders. For example, we’ve set up SVNs in food and agriculture, softlines, general merchandise, consumables, energy and facilities, transportation, waste and women’s economic empowerment, among others. SVNs draw on Walmart experience as well as expertise from suppliers, academia, governments and NGOs to set aspirations and define initiatives across our markets and product value chains. Example initiatives include fleet efficiency, chemicals, sustainable seafood, factory energy efficiency, factory safety, sourcing from women-owned businesses and product reformulations across our Great Value™ private-label brand and many national brands.

Special teams and functions such as food safety, responsible sourcing, energy, women’s economic empowerment and product sustainability support the initiatives launched by the SVNs. These teams work closely with Walmart associates to develop solutions and embed them in our day-to-day operations. For example, our Global Women’s Economic Empowerment team has developed a Supplier Academy to remove unique barriers faced by women-owned businesses in preparing to become Walmart suppliers. And what gets measured gets done, so we’ve implemented tools like the Sustainability Index to measure our progress and hold merchants and operators accountable for progress.

While the company naturally takes the lead on internally powered initiatives such as fleet efficiency, the Walmart Foundation pursues philanthropic initiatives that extend beyond Walmart’s operational sphere of influence. The Foundation can draw on Walmart’s skills and assets, but is free from the day-to-day pressures and constraints faced by any business. The Foundation has its own unique and valued relationships with partners and grantees across civil society, the government and the private sector. Through programs in food security, work opportunity and local community building, the Foundation helps people live better – one community at a time.

As we’ve continued to lead from the front, three core focus areas – sustainability, opportunity and local communities – have emerged. Often, our efforts in the sustainability arena intersect with the work we’re doing in local communities. And our initiatives in local communities cross over with our commitment to providing people with the skills and resources they need to open the door to opportunity and a better life. These principles are working for us – and we’re showing others that taking on large social issues can be compatible with building a stronger business. The following represents a sampling of ways Walmart and the Walmart Foundation made a difference in 2013:

Fertilizer reduction We encourage our suppliers to develop optimization plans with the potential to reduce fertilizer use on 14 million acres of farmland in the U.S. by 2020.
Sustainable chemistry We've made a priority of working with our suppliers to develop chemical products and processes that help reduce or eliminate the use of potentially hazardous substances.
Renewable energy Building on the momentum of becoming the largest on-site green power generator in the U.S., we pledged to increase our supply of renewable energy globally by 600 percent by the end of 2020.
Sustainability Index We're expanding the Sustainability Index and measurement to international markets with the goal of improving product sustainability at a global level.
U.S. manufacturing Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have leveraged their resources to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
Bangladesh fire safety We’re driving significant reform of the garment industry in Bangladesh by focusing on factory safety, worker empowerment and supply chain transparency.
Empowering women Walmart launched an online platform to connect small, women-owned businesses with a global customer base.
Access The Walmart Foundation provided thousands of people globally with the training and support they need to access jobs that lead to a better life.
Volunteerism Collectively, our U.S. associates volunteered more than 1.8 million hours, resulting in $17 million in donations in support of local organizations in FY 2014.
Associates In addition to promoting about 190,000 U.S. associates in 2013, 51 percent of our new hires were women and 49 percent were people of color.
Veterans We hired more than 32,000 U.S. military veterans within the first eight months of announcing our Welcome Home Commitment.
Fighting Hunger Together Walmart and the Walmart Foundation delivered on their commitment of $2 billion in cash and in-kind giving to fight hunger in America one year ahead of schedule.
Emergency preparedness We collaborated with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction to leverage our best practices in helping build resiliency in communities around the world.

While we’re proud of the progress we’ve made, we recognize this is a journey. Walmart wants to, and can, make a significant contribution to the world’s social and environmental challenges. And as we continue to learn, we’re committed to connecting the dots among our business, our philanthropic involvement and the efforts of our partners to lead in bold and transformative ways.

For a full index of progress on each of our public commitments, visit the links below